NEWARK 11.24.2017 www.newarkpostonline.com CONNECT WITH US NEWARK, DEL. EVENT Countdown NEWARK POST PHOTO BY JOSH SHANNON John Woomer, a member of White Clay Creek Presbyterian Church, helps load Thanksgiving meal bags into a social parking signs worker’s car on Tuesday evening. intended to A helping hand Turkey Trot help drivers Several groups pitch in to help those in need this Thanksgiving draws 600 Signs provide real-time By JOSH SHANNON [email protected] count of open spaces 45th-annual race Hundreds of Newarkers had a celebrates Thanksgiving By JOSH SHANNON happier Thanksgiving this year [email protected] because of a number of volunteer Pg. 5 projects that collected and distrib- The days of pulling into a Main Street uted turkeys and other food this parking lot and crossing your fingers that week. COMMUNITY a space is available will soon be a thing of “It’s about service and giving the past. back,” Richard Williams Sr. said This week, the city’s parking division in- as he helped hand out turkeys stalled countdown signs at both entrances outside Brookside Elementary to Lot 1, behind the Main Street Galleria. School on Saturday morning. “The The solar-powered signs provide a real- service we do is the rent we pay to time count of the number of open spaces live on this earth.” in the lot. Williams and a number of other “It will allow the customer to be con- volunteers handed out approxi- fident when they enter the parking lot mately 200 turkeys as part of a that there will be spaces available,” Park- philanthropic effort started by ing Administrator Marvin Howard said. Kimberton natives Mark Hendrix A decade “We’re trying to put a better environment and Jermaine Earl in 2003. out there for our parkers.” Their project started small, dis- The signs, which have been in the works tributing 40 turkeys to Kimberton of service for more than a year, are being tested in residents in need. Over the years, Lot 1 only. If they work as expected, the that effort has grown in scale and Newark nonprofit makes city will install similar signs at each en- expanded to include Brookside and trance of the other two pay-to-park lots, other surrounding neighborhoods. big impact in Kenya SUBMITTED PHOTO Pg. 3 See SIGNS See HELP Staff members and students from Christina Early Education Center pose with Page 10 Page 10 food donations that went to help families at the school. CLEANUP HEATING •AIR CONDITIONING • WWW.ENHANCEDHVAC.COM Local Dependable Brookside Professional targets graffiti Avai $ 00 Volunteers repaint fence to 25 OFF send message to taggers $ 00 Pg. 9 79 2 LOCAL NEWS CONNECT WITH US NEWARK POST 11.24.2017 The week ahead Christmas Bazaar: Today through Dec. 2, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, at Iron Hill Science Center, 1115 Robert Melson Lane. Featuring locally made jewelry, paintings, wooden pieces and more. For info, call 302-368-5703. Small Business Saturday: All day Saturday, in downtown Newark. Many downtown merchants will offer special deals. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the first 200 people to visit the Newark Parking Office (second floor of the Main Street Galleria) can purchase a $50 DNP gift card and get a $20 gift card for free. Parking is free all day. NHS all-class reunion: Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m., at Newark Country Club, 300 W. Main St. All Newark High School alumni are welcome. $15 admission includes light fare. Cash bar. History museum event: Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m., at the Newark History Museum, 429 S. College Ave. (under the railroad bridge). The Newark History Museum will be open for one last day before closing for the season. Musicians will perform from 3 to 4 p.m. Free. City council meeting: Monday, 7 p.m., at city hall, 220 S. Main St. Council will con- sider a contract for lobbying services, ratification of a union contract, a path forward for evaluating development projects and a proposal to increase the pay grades of certain management employees. Winterfest: Friday, Dec. 1, 6 to 8 p.m., on the Academy Lawn. Annual event features a Christmas tree lighting, music, roasted chestnuts and an ice-carving demonstration. Free. Reindeer Run: Friday, Dec. 1, 7 p.m., at the Aetna fire station on Academy Street. The 5K utilizes downtown Newark, the University of Delaware campus and the James F. Hall NEWARK POST PHOTO BY JOSH SHANNON Trail and raises money for Special Olympics Delaware. $25. Register at www.sode.org. Charanjeet Minhas, of the Delaware Sikh Awareness Coalition, speaks at an interfaith Thanksgiving For more events, visit newarkpostonline.com/calendar. To submit listings, go online or email service on Tuesday. [email protected]. Information runs in the print edition as space is available. Together in thanks By JOSH SHANNON [email protected] More than 100 Newarkers from numerous religions gathered Tuesday evening to give thanks. St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church hosted the annual interfaith Thanksgiving service, which each year rotates between different churches in the area. The interfaith service was first held in 1989 and became an annual event beginning in NEWARK POST FILE PHOTO BY JOSH SHANNON 1992. Lisa Morgan and Iona Muscella browse a display of ornaments at Heart and Home last year Nearly a dozen clergy on Small Business Saturday. members representing dif- ferent faiths and denomina- tions spoke at Tuesday’s service. “This is truly a sacred mo- ment,” Sheikh Abdel Hadi, of the Islamic Society of Delaware, said as he noted how nice it is to see people NEWARK POST PHOTO BY JOSH SHANNON BLUE HEN of various faiths come to- The Rev. Emma Horn, associate pastor of the First Presbyterian gether. “This is the true Church of Newark, said it is important to engage with people of CARWASH meaning of Thanksgiving.” different faiths. During the service, The Rev. Emma Horn, associate versation. She added that “Keep making spaces to pastor of the First Presby- most people worship with hear each other’s stories,” HAPPY terian Church of Newark, people who look like them Horn said. “Make spaces for asked those gathered to and have similar beliefs, so these conversations. That’s THANKSGIVING! turn to the person next to it’s important to take time to what we’re called to do as a But I’m them and have a brief con- reach out to others. family of faith.” Not A urkey HODGSON CRAFT FAIR Saturday,December 2nd 9:00 -4:00 Hodgson Vocational-Techical High School 1008 Capitol Trail (Rt.2) •Newark, DE 19711 (Between Polly Drummond &Possum Park Roads) www.BlueHenCarWash.com •302-273-2100 Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-7pm Sun 9am-5pm NEWARK POST 11.24.2017 CONNECT WITH US LOCAL NEWS 3 Newark nonprofit Water is Life Kenya celebrates 10 years By DARA MCBRIDE Special to the Post Consider how many times, and how many ways, you will use wa- ter before leaving the house for the day. Now imagine the closest water source is several miles away, and you must walk three hours to get there. It’s a mental task Newark native Joyce Tannian invites locals to do when trying to explain the work she does as founder of a nonprofit that brings water to communities in southern Kenya. “It’s hard for people to imagine that water can be such a serious issue, so you have to continuously meet people and bring it to life to people,” Tannian said. And it’s a challenge Tannian has been meeting for the past 10 years. Her charity, Water is Life Kenya, recently celebrated its 10th anni- SUBMITTED PHOTO versary with a gala earlier month. Joyce Tannian (left) poses for a photo with members of Namayiana Women’s Group, who create some of the beaded handicrafts sold by Water is Life Kenya, Tannian’s journey started a few while in Kenya this summer. years before that, when she was living in New York City and wit- ing – and since then Water is Life tor and Kenyan field manager. Communities that Water is Life Looking forward to the next 10 nessed the Sept. 11 terrorist at- Kenya’s 16 major water projects Tannian estimates the nonprofit Kenya aids continue to be involved years, Tannian said her goal is for tacks. The experience made her have brought water to nearly has a donor base of between 700 with the nonprofit, Tannian said. all the people in Water is Life Ke- question what she could be doing 50,000 people, Tannian said. and 800 people, 40 to 50 dedicated In 2011, the nonprofit added the nya communities to have strong to make the world a more positive Looking back, Tannian said she volunteers and a cash budget of Livestock as Business project to resource management skills, place. had no idea where the idea would $200,000. train and grant microloans to orga- hopefully protecting them from “What if more people used take her or the work involved in That work and money goes into nized trading cooperatives. future devastating droughts. She their life’s energy to help others? organizing a water project. She assessing a community’s needs, Another arm of the nonprofit imagines the nonprofit may also What would the world be like?” spends several months each year digging wells and mentoring buys beaded handiwork from be able to someday serve other Tannian, who is a trained singer, in Kenya, but must regularly re- leaders to manage the resulting Kenyan women, giving them an- parts of Kenya.